A
consultant along with his co-conspirators, the President of an Arkansas
college and a former Arkansas State Representative, were sentenced in
the past week for their roles in a bribery scheme in which state funds
were directed to non-profit entities in exchange for kickbacks,
announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice
Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Duane “DAK” Kees for
the Western District of Arkansas.

Randell G. Shelton Jr., 39, of Kemp, Texas, a consultant, was
sentenced on Sept. 6 by U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks to serve
72 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and
was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $660,698 and to forfeit
$664,000. Shelton was convicted by a federal jury on May 3 of 12
counts, including conspiracy and honest services wire and mail fraud.
Also convicted in the scheme was former Arkansas State Senator Jonathan
E. Woods, 41, of Springdale, Arkansas, of 15 counts, including
conspiracy, honest services wire and mail fraud, and money laundering.

Oren Paris III, 50, of Springdale, Arkansas, President of Ecclesia
College, was sentenced yesterday to serve 36 months in prison, followed
by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution
in the amount of $621,500. Paris pleaded guilty before Judge Brooks to
one count of honest services wire fraud on April 5.

Micah Neal, 43, of Springdale, Arkansas, a former Arkansas State
Representative was sentenced today to three years probation including
the first year to be served as home confinement and the second and third
years to include 300 hours of community service. Neal was also ordered
to pay restitution in the amount of $200,000 to the State of Arkansas
and the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District (NWAEDD). Neal
previously pleaded guilty before Judge Brooks to one count of
conspiracy to commit honest services fraud.

According to admissions made in his plea agreement, Neal served as
an Arkansas State Representative from 2013 to 2017. Neal admitted, and
evidence presented at trial for Woods and Shelton revealed, that between
sometime in 2013 and January 2015, Neal conspired with Woods to use
their official positions to appropriate and direct government money,
known as General Improvement Funds (GIF), to two non-profit entities in
exchange for bribes. Specifically, Neal and Woods authorized and
directed the NWAEDD, which was responsible for disbursing the GIF, to
award a total of approximately $600,000 in GIF money to the two
non-profit entities. Pursuant to his plea agreement, Neal admitted that
of the $600,000, he personally authorized and directed a total of
$175,000 to the entities. In return for his official actions, Neal
received approximately $38,000 in bribes from the two non-profit
entities.

Neal was the fourth defendant involved in this bribery scheme to be sentenced within the past week. On Sept. 5, Woods was sentenced
by Judge Brooks to serve 220 months in prison, followed by three years
of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount
of $1,621,500 and to forfeit $1,097,005.

The FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Trial
Attorney Sean F. Mulryne of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity
Section and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Elser and Assistant
U.S. Attorneys Kyra Jenner and Aaron Jennen of the Western District of
Arkansas prosecuted the case.